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The web in a box
Technology
The web in a box You can break off a piece of the internet and take it wherever you go Aviva Rutkin
Anyone, he says, could “break a little piece of the internet off and take it with them somewhere”. For the past few years, Griffey has been refining the original open-source PirateBox code: simplifying the installation process, making the box more portable and expanding the hardware options. The new devices, renamed LibraryBoxes, now run on a handful of volts powered by a small solar panel.
Librarybox.us
IF YOU were stranded on a desert island, what one website would you bring? Any of them would be tough to pack, unless you have a gadget like a LibraryBox: a small, do-ityourself web server. The box beams a Wi-Fi network to the surrounding area. Once someone connects, they can access any of the files or webpages hosted on that box – no internet “There are advantages to connection required. not being on the internet. Jason Griffey, founder of It’s very difficult to control LibraryBox, was inspired by an or censor the information” art project created at New York University in 2011. Housed inside a lunchbox, the PirateBox was Today, LibraryBoxes can be found created by a professor looking for in 37 countries around the world. an easy way to swap digital files Educational institutions are with his students. among the most common users. Griffey saw the potential it One library in Queensland uses it could have for people living in to share media with people living areas with damaged or unreliable in rural corners of Australia. internet infrastructure, or even Another box rides aboard the no way of getting online at all. Story Sailboat, a seafaring library
22 | NewScientist | 26 September 2015
that delivers books to hard-toreach communities off the coast of California. In the tropical archipelago of Fiji, only about one in 100 people have fixed broadband access. Last year, a team at the International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers dropped off LibraryBoxes filled with thousands of documents about fishing, aquaculture and marine science on two of the islands. Information like that can be crucial for people looking to start their own business or fishery, says Joan Parker, who worked on the project. “These are technical documents that seem to be really important to folks out there in the trenches.” Her group next plans to deliver boxes to the Philippines, where many libraries were damaged by typhoons this year. At three universities in South Africa, students are training to be clinical associates – a new kind of
healthcare worker who can diagnose and treat common ailments. Thanks to nearby LibraryBoxes, students can use their cellphones or tablets to check up on government guidelines, peruse an ebook or watch YouTube videos of medical procedures. “The LibraryBox is a great way to be able to share resources. It creates that feeling of being online,” says John Capati, regional director for Southern Africa at the American International Healthcare Alliance.
Firewall breaker
Ultimately, there’s no way to know how many LibraryBoxes are in use. The project sells them for $150 each, but anyone can download the source code for free and build their own at home. Since the box doesn’t connect to other networks, it could easily escape the notice of most people – even Griffey wouldn’t know it was out there. “This is a feature and not a bug,” says Griffey. “There are advantages to not being on the internet. It’s very difficult to control or censor the information that’s being shared.” In fact, he says, a few people in countries with strict government firewalls have found the box a valuable way to quietly share documents that are otherwise blocked. LibraryBox isn’t the first to try building hyperlocal web servers. For example, during Occupy Wall Street, developer Dan Phiffer created a similar project called occupy.here. Stashed with a camper in New York City’s Zuccotti Park, the router offered a local forum where people could share ideas or leave messages for one another. There are obvious limitations, says Kurtis Heimerl, who builds technology for developing regions at the University of Washington. “So much of the internet is about connecting people to other people,” he says. “These solutions –What would you carry?– don’t deal with that.” n
The web in a box You can break off a piece of the internet and take it wherever you go Aviva Rutkin
Anyone, he says, could “break a little piece of the internet off and take it with them somewhere”. For the past few years, Griffey has been refining the original open-source PirateBox code: simplifying the installation process, making the box more portable and expanding the hardware options. The new devices, renamed LibraryBoxes, now run on a handful of volts powered by a small solar panel.
Librarybox.us
IF YOU were stranded on a desert island, what one website would you bring? Any of them would be tough to pack, unless you have a gadget like a LibraryBox: a small, do-ityourself web server. The box beams a Wi-Fi network to the surrounding area. Once someone connects, they can access any of the files or webpages hosted on that box – no internet “There are advantages to connection required. not being on the internet. Jason Griffey, founder of It’s very difficult to control LibraryBox, was inspired by an or censor the information” art project created at New York University in 2011. Housed inside a lunchbox, the PirateBox was Today, LibraryBoxes can be found created by a professor looking for in 37 countries around the world. an easy way to swap digital files Educational institutions are with his students. among the most common users. Griffey saw the potential it One library in Queensland uses it could have for people living in to share media with people living areas with damaged or unreliable in rural corners of Australia. internet infrastructure, or even Another box rides aboard the no way of getting online at all. Story Sailboat, a seafaring library
22 | NewScientist | 26 September 2015
that delivers books to hard-toreach communities off the coast of California. In the tropical archipelago of Fiji, only about one in 100 people have fixed broadband access. Last year, a team at the International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers dropped off LibraryBoxes filled with thousands of documents about fishing, aquaculture and marine science on two of the islands. Information like that can be crucial for people looking to start their own business or fishery, says Joan Parker, who worked on the project. “These are technical documents that seem to be really important to folks out there in the trenches.” Her group next plans to deliver boxes to the Philippines, where many libraries were damaged by typhoons this year. At three universities in South Africa, students are training to be clinical associates – a new kind of
healthcare worker who can diagnose and treat common ailments. Thanks to nearby LibraryBoxes, students can use their cellphones or tablets to check up on government guidelines, peruse an ebook or watch YouTube videos of medical procedures. “The LibraryBox is a great way to be able to share resources. It creates that feeling of being online,” says John Capati, regional director for Southern Africa at the American International Healthcare Alliance.
Firewall breaker
Ultimately, there’s no way to know how many LibraryBoxes are in use. The project sells them for $150 each, but anyone can download the source code for free and build their own at home. Since the box doesn’t connect to other networks, it could easily escape the notice of most people – even Griffey wouldn’t know it was out there. “This is a feature and not a bug,” says Griffey. “There are advantages to not being on the internet. It’s very difficult to control or censor the information that’s being shared.” In fact, he says, a few people in countries with strict government firewalls have found the box a valuable way to quietly share documents that are otherwise blocked. LibraryBox isn’t the first to try building hyperlocal web servers. For example, during Occupy Wall Street, developer Dan Phiffer created a similar project called occupy.here. Stashed with a camper in New York City’s Zuccotti Park, the router offered a local forum where people could share ideas or leave messages for one another. There are obvious limitations, says Kurtis Heimerl, who builds technology for developing regions at the University of Washington. “So much of the internet is about connecting people to other people,” he says. “These solutions –What would you carry?– don’t deal with that.” n